At the close of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, Dr. James McHenry, a Maryland delegate, followed Benjamin Franklin from Independence Hall. He recorded a question asked by a lady, directed at Dr. Franklin.

The lady asked, "Well Doctor, what have we got? A republic or a monarchy?"

"A republic," replied Dr. Franklin, "if you can keep it."

IN DEFENSE OF MINORITIES!

"The smallest minority on earth is the individual. Those who deny individual rights cannot claim to be defenders of minorities." - Ayn Rand

Friday, June 25, 2010

Do you miss Jimmy Carter?

I don't think that very many people would normally want a return of President Jimmy Carter or the "Carter Years". He campaigned on the platform of a 'competent and compassionate' government and more or less failed across the board. The US jobless rate was more than 10 per cent. Inflation touched 15 per cent. Soviet troops marched unmolested into Afghanistan. America watched helpless as its diplomats were held hostage by Iranian revolutionaries for 444 days. In the rest of the world, from Latin America to Asia, American power yielded to the communist advance; economically, America was bested by Japan and Germany.

And then there was the moment when the US President was almost felled by a killer rabbit. It struck one day in 1979 when President Carter was in the presidential dinghy on a fishing trip in Georgia. A large, evidently amphibious animal with big floppy ears and protuberant teeth swam boldly up to the President’s boat and had to be smacked away with a paddle (a nice metaphor in many respects: the President may have been up the creek but at least he still had his paddle).

Mr Carter’s defenders say: very well. Not our finest hour. But the world did not view us as a laughing stock the way they do under the boot of the barack hussein obama regime. Better to be pitied than despised!

The statistics on the Carter Administration were nauseating. Automobile prices increased 72%. New house prices went up 67%. In 1979 alone, gasoline prices increased 60%. The inflation rate went from 6.8% in 1977, to 7.6% in 1978, to 11.5% in 1979, to 12.4% in 1980. National productivity declined sharply. The unemployment rate was roughly what it is today under barack hussein obama. Interest rates soared. By the time Carter left office, the prime rate was 21.5% -- a new record.

On July 15, 1979, the television networks aired Carter’s infamous “Malaise Speech” --written by Chris Matthews, currently the host of “Hardball” -- which declared that the nation had reached a “crisis of confidence.” It was widely criticized as being a “huge depressant” at a time when America needed encouragement and a pep talk. Three days later, Carter called for the resignations of all of his Cabinet members. To further underscore the crisis atmosphere, he symbolically lowered the thermostats in the White House and other federal facilities to 65 degrees in the winter, and raised them in the summer to 78 degrees. Promotional pictures showing the President in a heavy sweater were supposed to inspire everyone to “follow the leader”. The national Christmas Tree was not lighted in 1979 and 1980. But few were impressed and even fewer were motivated.

In his first month in office, Carter cut the defense budget by $6 billion. He then proceeded to order a severe reduction in our forces stationed in South Korea to just 14,000 air force personnel. When Major General John Singlaug, chief of staff of our operations in South Korea, criticized the plan, Carter fired him. (Carter himself abandoned the plan after removing only 3,600 troops.)

It is Carter’s signature on the Panama Canal Treaty of 1977 which surrendered U.S. control of that waterway to the Panamanian government.

When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, Carter flexed the U.S. muscle, declaring: “Let our position be absolutely clear. An attempt by any outside force to gain control of the Persian Gulf region will be regarded as an assault on the vital interests of the United States of America, and such an assault will be repelled by any means necessary, including military force.” To show the Russians that he meant business, Carter prohibited our athletes from participating in the 1980 Olympics in Moscow which, of course, enabled the Soviets to capture even more gold medals.

And when you consider the last year and a half that obama has been in office -- you know -- I do miss Jimmy Carter. Carter was a Christian, not a closet Muslim. Carter wasn't a racist. Carter may have been completely incompetent, but he wasn't on a mission to damage the United States. Carter supported our ally, Israel. I could go on.

So as dismal as Carter's presidency was, obama is shaping up to be the very worst president in US history.

Obama has managed to achieve one amazing accomplishment -- surpassing Jimmy Carter as the worst President in US history. At least Carter didn't hate America and didn't try to destroy America from within purposefully.